When to Plant Petunias in Raritan, NJ

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Raritan can be used to figure out when you can plant petunias.


Planting Calendar for Petunias

Frost tolerance for petunias: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Petunias are barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant petunias
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant petunias
Probably not a good time to plant petunias

The earliest that you can plant petunias in Raritan is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your petunias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your petunias indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Raritan. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Raritan may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Raritan last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your petunias in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Raritan

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Raritan

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Raritan.